Bible Commentaries

Genesis 9:28 — "And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died." Since Abraham was born about 292 years after the Flood, it appears that, for 58 years, Noah was a contemporary of Abraham! Lessons from this narrative are many: (1)    Temptation and sin are of the greatest danger immediately following victory. (2)    Satan

Exodus 32 overview — The episode of The Golden Calf Apostasy of Israel is recorded in this chapter, some six paragraphs being devoted to the narrative: (1)    the making of the calf (Exodus 32:1-6); (2)    Moses' intercession on behalf of Israel (Exodus 32:7-14); (3)    the wrath of Moses (Exodus 32:15-20); (4)    Aaron's excuses (Exodus 32:21-24); (5)    the

Exodus 39 overview — This chapter details the making of: (1)    the Ephod (Exodus 39:1-5); (2)    the Breastplate (Exodus 39:8-21); (3)    the Robe of the Ephod (Exodus 39:22-26); (4)    the fine Garments of the priests (Exodus 39:27-29); (5)    and the Crown of

Nehemiah 1 overview — regarding conditions in Jerusalem. They told him of the constant enmity of the neighboring people, and of how they were subjected to harassment day and night, and even that many dead people could be found along the roads.Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 332. The Scriptural account does not exactly correspond with this, unless we should set aside the usual opinion of commentators that Hanani was an actual brother of Nehemiah; but the narratives have one thing in common. Hanani was only one of several people

Leviticus 27:14-15 — and Israel's law did not permit the man who had made a hasty promise to forget it and do nothing about it. We may well pause to consider how many promises we have made to God and have not fulfilled."Ronald E. Clements, Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, Leviticus (Nashville: Breadman Press, 1972), p. 70. Wenham was probably correct in supposing that the "houses" referred to in these verses "were town houses that did not figure as part of the family's estate and therefore could be bought and sold freely."Gordon

Leviticus 9:15-17 — peculiar terminology in Leviticus 9:15, where, according to many scholars, a stricter rendition of the Hebrew gives us: "He sinned it, or made it to be sin!"Joseph A. Seiss, Gospel in Leviticus (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, Reprint, 1981), p. 162. This strongly suggests the words of 2 Corinthians 5:21, where it is declared that God made Christ "to be sin" upon our behalf. This also indicates the TYPICAL nature of all of those burnt sacrifices. They were representative of the eventual atonement

Jeremiah 34 overview — SLAVES EMANCIPATED AND ENSLAVED AGAIN This chapter features two prophecies: (1) There is the announcement of a conditional prophecy for Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:1-8), offering that king certain blessings on condition of his surrender to Babylon. (2) There is the prophecy of doom for the population of Jerusalem as a just reward of their emancipation of slaves according to God's Word in a mocking, hypocritical ceremony enacted in the sacred temple itself, followed at once by their treacherous, perfidious

Jeremiah 44 overview — living in various cities from one end of Egypt to the other, indicating the passage of considerable time. Chapter divisions are: (1) Jeremiah warned the Jews that disobedience would bring upon them the same fate that befell Jerusalem (Jeremiah 44:1-7); (2) he declared that idolatry would destroy them (Jeremiah 44:8-10); (3) sword, famine and pestilence are threatened (Jeremiah 44:11-14); (4) the people declare that they will continue to worship the Queen of Heaven (Jeremiah 44:15-19); (5) Jeremiah refutes

Deuteronomy 25 overview — Here we have a total of six paragraphs on: (1)    limiting the infliction of corporal punishment as a legal penalty (Deuteronomy 25:1-3); (2)    muzzling the ox on the threshing floor (Deuteronomy 25:4); (3)    rules regarding Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10); (4)    a special law regarding wrestling (Deuteronomy

Mark 1 overview — expressions being straightway. The entire first year of our Lord's ministry is presented in this first chapter. He summarized the ministry of John the Baptist (Mark 1:1-8), related the baptism of Christ (Mark 1:9-11), and recorded the temptation (Mark 1:12-13) in the first brief section of things preparatory to Jesus' ministry. He then immediately launched into his narrative of the Lord's ministry principally in the vicinity of Capernaum (Mark 1:14—4:34), the following events being related in this

John 14 overview — supernatural calm and confidence, the Lord reassured his chosen ones, loving them, encouraging them, and protecting them in every way possible. Before leaving the scene of the supper, he spoke the words of this chapter concerning: (1) the Father's house, (2) the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (3) the Comforter, and (4) the eternal necessity of what he was about to do.

Joshua 2:15-16 — mountains, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourself there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way." This whole narrative is clear enough when due allowance is made for the deficient Hebrew tenses. Joshua 2:16 is a clear reference to the woman's instructions before she let them down from the window. Also the elements of the conversation that are given in the remaining verses also took place, obviously, while the men were in Rahab's house. "Get you to the

1 Peter 2:24 — who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. See under 1 Peter 2:25 for a list of references here to Isaiah 53. Scripture could not state more plainly the great redemptive offering of Christ for our sins on the cross. There was a time when Peter himself resented this (Matthew 16:22), but how gloriously he had learned

1 Peter 4:5 — will judge the living and the dead. Living and the dead … From the inception of Christianity, this appears to have been somewhat of a stereotyped way of speaking of the final judgment. Peter himself used it at the home of Cornelius (Acts 10:42), and it appears in Paul's charge to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:1), such early usage of the expression pointing back to Jesus himself as the author of it. It refers to the fact that the final judgment will gather earth's total population, the dead of all

2 Peter 1:2 — heading. Concerning it, Moorehead said: This is the knowledge that rests on fact, that comes to the believer as something supernatural, as being communicated by the Spirit of God, and therefore is true and complete. William G. Moorehead, op. cit., p. 2357. Peter's introduction of the subject of this accurate and complete knowledge here at the very outset "anticipates the attack that is coming upon the godless speculations of the false teachers in chapter 2." Alfred Plummer, Ellicott's Commentary

2 Peter 3:6 — with water, perished: Wheaton stated the argument here as follows: "The argument used by the scoffers is phony. They have conveniently forgotten that God did intervene in judgment at the time of the Flood." David B. Wheaton, op. cit., p. 1257. God's intervention and interruption of the orderly process of nature in the cataclysmic event of the great flood proved several things, willfully put out of their minds by the scoffers: (1) It cannot be argued that God will not again interrupt the

1 John 4:18 — perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love. The apostle John here presents one after another "all but impossible levels of Christian attainment";Amos N. Wilder, op. cit., p. 286. (1) the love of all people with a self-sacrificing love like that of Christ; (2) the living of a life free from every sin; (3) confidence in the hour of the final judgment when people are pleading for the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them;

Revelation 10:4 — seven thunders uttered, and write them not. Eller called this verse, "a puzzler, but a passage not to hang up on!" Vernard Eller, The Most Revealing Book in the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), p. 112. As for the reason why the incident was given at all, see under preceding verse. Another possible view was given by Morris: The Revelation conveyed the messages to John himself, for he clearly understood them; and Paul speaks of such experiences (2

Revelation 17:7 — hostile world." A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 416. The angel seems to have wondered at John's wonderment, because "there were sufficient marks to identify the harlot," Ibid. Very similar descriptions of Judah, a type of the church, in Jeremiah 2 and Jeremiah 3 should have made it plain to John. He should have been able to read in the vision the truth that just as the old Israel had apostatized and crucified the Christ, the church of Christ also, in the lapse of years, would fall from her high

Revelation 19:14 — impossible. We agree with Pieters that this does not symbolize Christians. "It is an idea alien to the Scriptures to speak of Christians going forth again to wage war on evil, after attaining a heavenly rest." Albertus Pieters, op. cit., p. 204. The Lord never depicted his sheep as organized in a campaign of destruction directed against the wolves! "The armies which are in heaven must be angelic armies." Ibid. This also corresponds to the oft-repeated mention of a host of holy